We need a swine flu newsroom

My kids are starting kindergarten in a few days, but the lump in my throat isn't a bittersweet reaction to seeing my boys leave the nest. Rather, it's from a fear that they'll come back infected with the swine flu.

According to local news reports, Oregon state health officials are warning that "40 percent of the state's population could become ill with the virus." That's 1.5 million cases. Of course, much of this is just the media's interpretation of the facts--and therein lies the issue.

In matters concerning life and death I don't want to be forced to rely (solely) on a news media obsessed with body counts and hot zones. Same goes for the un-vetted information that will inevitably float around on various sites, blogs, and social networks.

I want a carefully tended sanctuary, free of rhetoric and jargon, that provides information meeting the following criteria:

• Actionable: Practical advice on preventing or treating the disease, such as washing hands, getting vaccinated, and sleeping at least 8 hours.
• Credible: Information from state and federal epidemiologists on the front lines of the battle.
• Current: Constant updates with the latest verifiable facts about the epidemic's status.
• Local: Geographic context to the information most relevant for specific communities.
• Social: Information that can be shared easily and immediately with family, friends, and co-workers. This would help make credible information the most prevalent on the web.

So who should create this sanctuary? I believe that health authorities in each state have a responsibility to open an online newsroom or crisis center to educate the general populace. What I have found so far, however, is a long way from ideal.

Oregon's Public Health Division website, for example, has made a decent start but still could use a good shot in the arm. Here are a few basic things that would make the site infinitely more useful and usable:

• Put a big "SWINE FLU" button front and center so that people can find it easily and quickly.
• Convert all the PDFs into web pages with a "printer friendly" option. This helps with version control, allowing staff to update the pages without needing to update PDFs, which can also take a long time to download.
• Create a blog to handle breaking news, which can be optimized for search engines and distributed easily.
• Maximize the ways to share information, using such tools as Twitter accounts, Facebook pages, YouTube videos, and RSS feeds. At the very least, it should allow readers to email content directly from the site.
• Edit like crazy so that only the most pertinent information is placed in front of the reader. Make sure all content is only relevant to the swine flu.

There's no question that health officials face an enormously complicated and terrifying task ahead. That makes it all the more important to provide information in a way that fosters public confidence.

And with all the free communication tools available today, these officials have an opportunity to set a new standard in the way information is managed in health emergencies.

Update: Based on this post, I worked with Ike Pigott to put together the NW Oregon Swine Flu Newsroom. You can read Ike's write up here.